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Criminal Justice Program Overview

Some of the best crime fighters use nothing more than a telephone or a test tube. From the police dispatcher to the crime lab technician, Criminal Justice support professionals play an essential role in keeping all phases of the USA's justice system working correctly. In just two years, Bay State College's Criminal Justice Associate Degree Program will help you develop the professional skills you need to quickly enter the Criminal Justice field:

Learn from professors with real world, professional experience in the Criminal Justice field.

Master program curriculum that incorporates the humanities to prepare you for work in the Criminal Justice social service field.

Ready to break into a career in Criminal Justice? Request information about our 2-year Criminal Justice Associate Degree Program today!

Available In

Criminal Justice Day Classes

Discover a diverse but close-knit community of students, faculty and staff at our Boston campus, located in the historic Back Bay neighborhood.

Duration: 4 semesters

Semester Length: 16 weeks

Program Length: 2 years

Start Dates:

Fall 2019: Tuesday, September 3, 2019

Spring 2020: Monday, January 13, 2020

Application Deadline: Rolling Admissions

Criminal Justice Evening Classes

If you're busy during the day, Bay State College's Criminal Justice Degree Evening Program gives you the opportunity to learn on your own time. Take evening college courses at our convenient Boston Back Bay campus, or at our satellite location in Taunton, Massachusetts.

Duration: 8 terms

Term Length: 8 weeks

Program Length: 2 years

Start Dates:

Summer 2019 Term 1: Monday, May 20, 2019

Summer 2019 Term 2: Monday, July 8, 2019

Fall 2019 Term 1: Tuesday, September 3, 2019

Fall 2019 Term 2: Monday, October 28, 2019

Spring 2020 Term 1: Monday, January 13, 2020

Application Deadline: Rolling Admissions

Criminal Justice Online Classes

Earn a degree at your own pace. Bay State College's Criminal Justice Degree Online Program gives you the flexibility to learn when you want and where you want.

Criminal Justice Associate Degree Program Mission

The Criminal Justice Associate Degree Program provides the opportunity for development of a wide range of skill sets essential to success in the field of criminal justice. The program provides the student with the necessary education to enter an entry level criminal justice position or transfer to a bachelor’s program in criminal justice.

Criminal Justice Associate Degree Program Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the Bay State College Associate of Science in Criminal Justice, students will:

Understand the origins and historical development of the rule of law, the role of government, the policing of society and our systems and philosophies of justice from a world-view perspective.

Be familiar with the major theories relative to the causes and cures of criminality through the use of critical thinking skills and be able to develop practical intervention models.

Demonstrate the empathy, cultural sensitivity and knowledge of the humanities necessary to guide victims and offenders, their families and the community towards restorative justice.

Be familiar with and be able to apply substantive and procedural criminal laws to situations and events existing or likely to occur based upon trends or cultural shifts in our modern world.

Possess the oral, listening, and written communication skills necessary to facilitate effective communication with the various participants within the criminal justice system.

Be familiar with the historical development and current use of technology to monitor, prevent and investigate criminal activity and be able to critically analyze the degree to which technological advance in the field of criminal justice positively or negatively impacts the human condition.

Be able to articulate a comprehensive understanding of the processing of criminal cases and offenders from the investigative stage to community corrections, incarceration and offender re-entry into society.

Demonstrate an understanding of and ability to apply, to ethical dilemmas faced in the field, the codes of ethics of the American Bar Association, American Society for Industrial Security, American Correctional Association, Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences and the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

Employers of Our Criminal Justice Graduates

Massachusetts Trial Court

Community Resources for Justice

Norton Police Department

Stoughton District Court Probation

Wareham District Court

Essex County Sheriffs Department

Transportation Security Administration

Boston Police Department

Lynn Community Connections

Criminal Justice Degree Accreditation

Bay State College is is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE, formerly NEASC).

The New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) accredits schools and colleges in the six New England states (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont). Membership in one of the six regional accrediting associations in the United States indicates that the school or college has been carefully evaluated and found to meet the standards agreed upon by qualified educators.

Bay State College is authorized to award the following degrees by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts: Associate in Science, Associate in Applied Science, Bachelor of Science.